


You got it, Rookie.

by JoyBooth



Category: Pitch (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-08
Updated: 2017-06-11
Packaged: 2018-09-15 18:30:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9250385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoyBooth/pseuds/JoyBooth
Summary: Just some fluffy post episode 10 resolution. Bonus points if you know the movie it was inspired by.





	1. Chapter 1

They were in Colorado playing the Rockies. It had been two weeks since the almost no-hitter, and he hadn’t seen Baker once. His mood was the worst anyone had ever seen it. With Blip working through his own issues the team appointment Sonny to talk to Mike. Mike went on and on about the fight he had had with Rachel. They were over, really over this time. He hoped that talk of his ex was enough to hide the woman who was really on his mind. 

“Mike, it sounds to me like you need to get back on the horse?” Sonny said finishing his drink.

“Get back on the horse?” 

“So things didn’t work out with you and the ex again, so what? You’ve been through this before. We all know you could go home with half the women in here tonight. We’ve seen you do it. So, quit whining, and go meet someone.”

“Oh sure, a snap, go find the one person in the world who fills your heart with joy…”

“Have I ever met someone like that? Have you?” Sonny asked, completely befuddled by the idea. Mike on the other hand had a very specific person in mind. She was stubborn and pushy and kind and beautiful. He honestly couldn’t imagine his life without her anymore. 

When they got back to San Diego a few days later he went by the Omni, but they told him she had checked out. Then he called Amelia, but she told him Ginny had fired her the day of the almost no-hitter. Floundering, he finally called Evelyn. 

“She got an apartment,” Evelyn said as soon as she answered the phone. “I’ll text you the address.”

“Hey, are you ok?” Mike asked.

“I’m getting there, but Ginny has a cold on top of everything else, and I think she could use a little company right about now.”

“Alright, well I’m here for you Ev. Always. You are the little sister I never had, so just let me know.”

There was a moment were he had to look at his phone to make sure she hadn’t hung up, but then finally she said. “Thanks, Mike. That means a lot to me. Now, go take care of my girl so I can focus on my stuff.”

“Yes ma’am.” 

An hour later he had stopped by several different stores, but he finally had everything he needed. He pushed the button next to the appartment 3b blank. 

“Who is it?” Came the garbled voice of Ginny Baker. 

“It’s me, Baker.”

“What are you doing here?”

“You want to let me up?”

“No, I don’t think that that is a good idea because I have a… I have a terrible cold,” she sneezed loudly, “I’m sniffling, and I’m not really awake and I’m… uh…”

As she was talking another tenant walked up, punched in the code for the gate and then held it for him as he was laden with several bags and a large bouquet of flowers. 

She was still talking through the com, when he knocked on her door, scaring the heck out of her. When she didn’t answer right away, he knocked again. 

“Just a second,” she sniffled. Throwing a large hoodie over her pajamas and trying to quickly throw away the mountain of tissues that had piled up on her coffee table. 

“Hey,” he sighed when she finally opened the door looking like death warmed over. 

“Hey, what are you doing here?” 

“I heard you were sick, and I was worried,” he shrugged. Seeing all the stuff in his arms, she stepped back to allow him into the apartment

“You brought me bluebells?” She asked quietly, taking the flowers from the top of his stack. 

“They’re your favorite. You said one day the smell reminded you of home. Though I guess if you got an apartment here, that means you are making this your home?” He asked hopefully. 

“It’s a month to month, but rehab is here and they say they can have me up and running for spring training, so…”

They were interrupted by her stomach growling. Looking around the small apartment, Mike didn’t see a single dirty plate or bowl in sight. “When was the last time you ate, Rookie?”

She considered the question for longer than he thought possible. Her eyes sort of glazed over and it was almost like she was asleep on her feet. She swayed a bit, so he set his bags on the floor and ushered her to the couch. 

“I guess it’s a good thing I came by, and that I hit Mama’s soup palace on the way over.” He teased more than a little concerned.  
“I’m fine, I just need to sleep. Could you get me another blanket?” 

“You got it, Baker.” He wandered through the apartment to the bedroom grabbing the comforter off the bed and then tucking it around her on the couch. Her skin was clammy to the touch and he wondered how much was the cold and how much was whatever was going on with her arm. “When was the last time you saw a doctor?”

“Ev took me the other day. They said it’s just a bad bug. You probably shouldn’t be here. Geriatrics are usually the most susceptible to these kinds of things.”

“Ha, ha,” he growled, though it made him feel a bit better that she was trying to joke. “I think you should try to eat something. I got your favorite purple gatorades and those popsicles you like too. And if none of that works for you we could order something.” 

“I’ll try the soup,” she grumbled looking skeptical. 

“You got bowls and spoons around here?” He asked. There were a few boxes in the bed room, but other than that it looked like she had yet to move in. 

“Nope, I was supposed to go buy some stuff, but then I got sick and I just haven't felt up to it.” 

“No problem, out of the carton it is,” he shrugged. She propped herself up a bit on the couch and he handed her the container of soup, only to realize that her arm was still in the sling under her hoodie. “I’ll hold the container, you work the spoon,” he decided. He sat next to her on the couch, with lap full of Ginny Baker legs and held the soup while she ate. Soon the container was empty. 

“I guess I didn’t realize how hungry I was,” she said with a frown. 

“There’s another container if you want?” 

“Could you put it in the fridge for later?”

“You got it, and while I’m at it, do you have a vase for these?” He asked, picking up the flowers from the coffee table. 

“You think I have a vase and not bowls?”

“You’re right. That was dumb, I’ll figure something out.” A few minutes later he came back with a tarnished old tea pot. “How bout this?”

“Must’ve been left by a previous tenant, but it should work.”

He disappeared into the kitchen, reappeared a few minutes later, putting the flowers on the coffee table along with a gatorade. Then went to put the things he had brought away. She was still staring at the tea pot when he came back. 

“What is it, Baker? You don’t approve of my arranging skills?”

“What? No, they are beautiful. I love them. I was just thinking, what I really want right now is a cup of raspberry zinger tea.”

He laughed and she frowned at him. 

“Why is that funny?”

“It’s not. Hold on.” He disappeared into the kitchen again and came back five minutes later with a steaming cup of raspberry tea and a honey bear. 

“You got me a honey bear? You know it always tastes better…”

“From a honey bear, yeah, I know,” he laughed. 

She drank her tea for a minute and he went back to sitting with her legs in his lap. 

“What is it now?” He asked when he caught her staring, this time at him.

“Are you really here, or is this an elaborate fever dream?”

He pinched her leg and she yelped, nearly spilling her tea. 

“Not cool, man. I get it, you’re real, but how did you know where I live or that I was sick? Not to mention, you know everything in the Ginny Baker Cold care package?”

“Evelyn to the first two. She says she will try to make it by tomorrow and as to the last thing, you talk a lot, Baker. I actually listen.” 

“But why are you here?”

“I didn’t like how we left things. I get that we have to maintain certain boundaries, because we’re teammates, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends too. Does it?”

“You never came to see me after…” she gestured vaguely to her arm. 

“I didn’t think you’d want me around, after everything.”

“I always want you,” she whispered, her eyes suddenly very serious.  
“Yeah, me too.” He agreed. For a moment they just stared, lost in what the future might be, by then he shook himself. “But for now, teammates and friends.”

“Teammates and Best Friends.”

“You got it, Rookie.”


	2. ikea or bust

Ginny knocked as she opened the door. 

“Lawson!” She called as she wondered into the perfectly clean but empty kitchen. 

“Yo, Lawson? Where are you?” She called, poking her head out to the deck. He wasn’t there either, so she headed for the stairs.

“Mike, I know it’s the off season, but it’s noon. You really shouldn’t be in bed still. Did you forget we had plans?”

She stopped at the bedroom door. “I’m coming in. Please yell now, if you have company, or at least cover your junk.”

She pushed the door open slowly peaking around the corner, but there are just a mountain of blankets. She almost turned away to check the pool house, but then the pile of blankets sneezed. 

“Mike?”

Coughing emanated from the mountain as she got closer. She shook her head. “I told you I was going to get you sick,” she sighed. 

“Well, I didn’t know you were that sick, Typhoid Mary!” He coughed a few more times before his head finally appeared. He was flushed and oddly pale at the same time. 

“God, you look terrible.”

He glared. 

“I guess I should take care of you since you went all Clara Barton on me last week.” Instead of moving away, though she flopped onto the bed beside him and pulled out her phone. 

“Aren’t you worried about getting sick?” He asked not moving away, but actually moving the lay his head on her shoulder. 

“Meh, I never get sick.”

Mike raised an eyebrow in clear disbelief.

“Seriously. That was a fluke. Beside, I already beat this bug, so I am the perfect person to take care of you now.”

Mike sneezed and Ginny handed him a tissue from the box on the bed side table. 

“I guess this means we are not going to make it to ikea today and I will be eating take out with plastic forks until I die.”

“You could go by yourself,” he sniffled, snuggling in and throwing a heavy arm over her.

“Where’s the fun in that? No, I am ordering us some more of that magic soup and Ev is already on her way to the store for green gatorades, strawberry cough drops, and that disgusting clove tea you like.” 

“The tea is delicious and you know it.”

“It is not. It is horrendous, but if it makes you feel better I will put up with the smell.”

“I am very sick,” he grumbled, closing his eyes. 

“Of course you are. Just get some rest and I’ll wake you up when the provisions get here.” 

What ginny had not accounted for, was being trapped under the full body weight of Mike Lawson. Could she have got out? Sure, but he was sleeping so peacefully, she didn’t have the heart to. Instead she lay there playing candy crush for almost an hour, until the door bell finally rang. 

Mike stirred when she started to slip out from under him, but a dropped off again when she stroked his head a few times. By the time she got downstairs, Evelyn was already putting groceries away. 

“I hope you tell Mike that I had to go to 3 different stores to find that tea of his. I don’t even do that for my kids.”

“What about Marcus’ soy ice cream?”

“That’s different. It’s an allergy, not just some weird thing he likes.”

“I know, and it is actually pretty good when you can get him to share…”

“I picked up a couple of things for dinner. In case you decide to make yourself at home.” 

Ginny grimaced and tried to peek at what Ev thought she’d be able to cook. 

“Everything goes in the microwave, so don’t worry,” she teased as she closed the fridge. 

Ginny glared. She knew she wasn’t a good cook, but being called on it always annoyed her.

“Already bored of playing house?”

“That’s not what I’m… He’s sick, and it’s my fault,” Ginny floundered around for excuses, blushing furiously.

“I know, I know, but a girl can dream right? I mean, I was already picturing you guys trying to put together a book shelf and now you are nursing him back to health. It’s like my own living romantic comedy.”

Ginny rolled her eyes. “Don’t you have your own family to play house with?”

Ev bit her lip, and Ginny immediately regretted bringing up the sore subject.

“Things aren't any better?”

“I don’t know, G. I have loved that man, given him everything, for so long. I don’t think I’m being selfish, wanting something of my own.”

“You’re not. You know Blip, he loves you. He is an idiot sometimes, but he loves you. He has these ideas in his head of how things are supposed to be and when it isn’t exactly how he planned, he gets thrown, but he always works it out. You guys will work it out,” Ginny insisted, reaching out to squeeze the other woman’s hand. 

“I hope so. I can’t imagine my life without him.”

“Ev, go home. You can’t work things out talking to me. Talk to him. You’ll see, and if after you talk he is still being stubborn, I’ll take him out and have a nice little chat about how to treat a woman as fine as my best friend.”

Once she had walked Evelyn to the door. She went back the the kitchen and searched for a tray to take upstairs. Mike had every kitchen gadget know to man. Each was in its own little space. She liked to tease him about how particular he was, but when she was looking for something it came in handy. She had everything ready to head upstairs when the doorbell rang again. 

Once she had paid the delivery boy and put the soup in an actual bowl, she head up the stairs. Mike was sitting up in bed when she got to the door.

“I could get used to this,” he teased.

“Don’t. I feel bad, because you caught my cold. I am not wait on you kind of friend though, and this will not be happening again anytime soon.”

“Not even if I get in…”

“Don’t even think about finishing that thought. One of us on the injured list is enough for me to worry about thank you very much.”

“Aww, Baker I would say I didn’t know you cared, but what with my poster on your wall and all…”

“For the last time, there was no poster.”

“What, just like trading cards and a jersey and a pillow with my face on it?”

“Argh, I will admit to the card, since I already admitted that the first day we met, but everything else must be the wild imaginings of your clearly very addled mind.”

He just grinned at her.

“Eat your soup, before I change my mind about taking care of you and eat it myself.”

Mike didn’t have to be told twice. He dug in and finished the entire bowl in record time. 

“I can’t believe you don’t have a tv in here. I thought I was going to die of boredom while you were sleeping,” Ginny grumbled once she had cleared the tray away and reclaimed her side of the bed. 

“It takes away from the magic.”

“Ugh, I can’t believe you actually just said that. Seriously what do you do at night when you aren't hosting the endless stream of models, actresses and groupies?”

Mike pulled a remote from the folds of the blankets and pushed a button, which opened a cabinet that house a rather nice looking tv. 

“I knew it! You were holding out on me.” She grinned, snatching the remote. 

“Hey, I’m the sick one. I should get to pick what we watch.”

“You are going to pass out in the next five minutes, so I get to pick and in exchange I will allow you to continue to use me as a human body pillow.”

Mike flushed.

“It’s fine. I never took you for a cuddlier, but it makes you feel better, then get over here.” She dragged his arm over her and started flipping through the channels. It only took a second for him to settle into their pervious position. If, his face practically tucked into her neck this time, she didn’t say anything about it. She just watched reruns of cupcake wars until she fell asleep too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So does anyone want to see the ikea trip / putting together a book shelf? I think it could be funny, but that is probably because my sister almost killed me when we built a wine rack together...


	3. Meatballs aplenty, meatballs galore

“Let’s start with you buying me some meatballs. If we are going to do this I want to have a full stomach in case we get lost in the store. I heard it is kind of a maze or something.”

“It is, but why am I buying? I picked you up, and we are here to buy things for your place.”

“Exactly, I have to spend all my hard earned money on all these silly things like plates, bowls and those coffee mugs you like. The least you can do is buy me lunch.”

“It might be cheaper for me to buy the kitchen stuff,” he joked, as they moved through the cafe line. Ginny smacked him in the arm, and he made a show of rubbing it while glaring at her. She simply stuck her tongue out at him and stepped forward. 

“We have to get meatballs, obviously…”

“Obviously…” He rolled his eyes, but she just kept talking.

“We should get some strawberry shortcake too, oh, and some mac and cheese and fries.”

“Whatever, I just want like 3 pieces of apple cake.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously, I’ll eat some of your meatballs.”

“You will not. Fries I will share, but you gotta get your own meatballs.”

Once they were done eating, they finally ventured into the store. 

“What should we check out first?” Ginny asked. 

“What's on your list?”

“What list?” She asked, turning to look at him while continuing to walk backward through the store. 

“You didn’t make a list? How will you know what you need?”

“I have been living in a hotel room since I left home. The appartment came with a couch, a coffee table and a bed. I had to buy a pillow, sheets and a blanket the day I moved in. Other than that I have shot glasses from every city I’ve ever played in and clothes.”

Mike groaned. “We are going to need a cart.” 

While he was getting said cart, Ginny roamed into the toy section.  
“Mike, Mike, Mike! We should totally get these for the boys,” she called, holding two giant stuffed pencils.

“Why?”

“They’re fun. They could sword fight with’em or use them as body pillows or…”

“I thought you and Evelyn were friends.”

“I guess that means the tambourines are out of the question…” she frowned shaking the tambourine before tossing it back into the bin. 

“How about Lattjo?”

Ginny looked confused. 

“Swedish jenga? Maybe we could let Ev and Blip go out and have a game night at your new place with Marcus and Gabe.”

“I guess that means we are going to need at least four place settings, and maybe an actual table.” 

“And chairs might be good to.”

Ginny gave a long suffering sigh. “There is a reason I never got a place of my own, and I’m pretty sure this is it.”

“Come on, Baker. I’ll help maybe if you’re good I’ll even spring for some almond cake on the way out.”

After an hour of wandering around the store. Laying on all the mattresses, sitting on every chair and a few rounds of hide and seek, Ginny was getting bored. 

“I feel like I should have dropped breadcrumbs or something. Are we ever going to get out of here?” She whined.

“Just gotta decide on a tableware and then we are outa here. I promise. What looks good?” He gestured to a room of perfectly organized tablescapes. 

Ginny glanced in that direction with a decidedly glazed over look. “Why does it even matter? I eat alone most nights, usually on the couch. Can’t you just pick something so we can go?”

Mike rolled his eyes and looked at the closest tables. His eyes landed on a setting which was mostly plain with orange lines around the rim. It reminded him of the plates he had growing up. Well, their plates were pretty mismatched, but he knew the piece that had come from his mother’s cedar chest, and these looked very similar. 

“How about these?” 

“Perfect, does it come in a four pack?” She asked as she ran and jumped onto the cart, racing it to the end of the aisle. 

“It does, but I think you should get two 4-packs, in case you decide to invite the whole Sanders family some day.”

“Cool,” she agreed rolling back the other way while sitting on the handlebars. 

“What do you think about this table?”

“I think it’s a table.”

“Baker, 4 places? 6? 12? What are you thinking?”

Finally she stopped flitting around and actually looked at the options. "The farm style Kej-sark-Rona looks good. I can’t imagine having more than you, Blip, Ev, and the boys, and this one is kind of like the one we had growing up, but how do we get it? Is there like a delivery guy or something?”

“Let’s go with or something for now. These chairs ok?” He asked, gesturing to the matching chairs. 

“Yep, they’re great. Now check out what I found. It’s the same espresso thingy you have, and that mug you love so much. Now you can make yourself coffee, so you are not always running to Starbucks.”

Mike smirked. “It’s almost like you want me to hang out with you more than I already do.” 

“You wish, I was just trying to be nice, but who knows, maybe you and the barista have thing.”

Mike shook his head. “No, it’s nice. Thank you.” 

“Your welcome. Are we done now?” 

“Almost, we just have to go get the flat packs.”

“What the hell is a flat pack?”

“It’s your new table and chairs, or it will be. All we have to do it put it together.”  
Ginny groaned. “We are stopping for beer on the way home.”

“I like the way you think, Baker! And we'll order pizza while we're at it.”


	4. All we have to do it put it together...

Ginny was in the kitchen putting the new dishes in the dish washer and plating the Chinese when she heard an unholy thud in the living room. 

“Everything ok in there?” She called. 

Mumbled curses floated back to her. She grabbed two beers from the fridge and decided to check on the progress. The sight from the door had her covering her mouth to hold in the giggles. Mike had a giant welt on his forehead and piece of her new table were strewn across the floor. 

“Don’t even think about laughing, or I swear to god I will leave you to do this yourself.”

“You wouldn’t,” she said not quite certainly. 

“I wouldn’t, but still laughing at me would be a real dickhead move.”

Ginny nodded seriously. “Beer, then?”

“Beer,” Mike sighed, taking the bottle and downing half of it in one swig. 

“Easy, tiger. You are the one who wanted me to get 6 chairs. We have a long night ahead of us.” 

“I know, I know, but you are the one on the third floor with a bustled elevator. I’m parched.”

“Alright then, where are the instructions? I want to make sure we have everything before we get started.”

“Instructions are for people who don’t know what they’re doing. You have an expert here to help, so no need for instructions. Just hand me the Allen wrench and let’s do this.” 

Ginny rolled her eyes, but dutifully handed him the weird thing he had gestured at. Then she went back to the kitchen. A few minutes later, she came back in the doorway munching an egg roll.

“Does that look right to you?” She asked. 

Mike looked at his creation for a moment. “Of course, I have to go back and tighten everything, but it’s coming along nicely.”

“But look at the legs. I don’t think that’s right.” 

Mike stood up and walked all the way around the upside down table. “Shit!”

Ginny looked away and ducked back into the kitchen. Mike wandered into the kitchen a little while later.

“Do you need help?” 

“Nope. Table’s done. I thought we could eat on the couch, then tackle the chairs. First one to finish their three wins a prize of their choosing.”

“Sounds good to me, except that you’ve put this stuff together before and this is my first time.”

“Making excuses already, Rookie?”

“No, I would just hate for you to be embarrassed when you lose.”

“Never going to happen. In fact, I already have my prize in mind,” he grinned with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. 

Half hour later, Mike was surrounded on all sides by the pieces of all three of his chairs. Ginny was methodically working through the instructions with the first chair half assembled. 

“How’s it going over there, Rookie? Want me to give you a hand?”

“Mind your own mess, old man,” Ginny grumbled. 

“Suit yourself…”

“Sh… sugar foot!”

“Um… what?”

“I pinched my damn finger,” she said around the finger that was in her mouth. 

“Maybe I should just do this. You’re injured and I’d hate for you to hurt your hand on top of everything else.”

“I’m fine. It was just a pinch. I have my own prize in mind and I’m going to get it.” 

Mumbled curses filled the space as they worked.

Mike was so engrossed in his work, that he nearly jumped out of his skin when Ginny screamed, “Done!” At the top of her lungs before proceeding with a victory dance fit for the end zone.

Mike was only half way through his third chair and the second ‘finished’ chair looked less than stable. “How?” He asked, a little in awe, and a lot annoyed.  
Ginny shrugged. “I read the instructions, and I’m very good with my hands.” 

Mike choked on his swig of beer. 

“Do you want a hand with those?” Ginny asked, gesturing to the pile of pieces still scattered around him. 

“Yeah, that would probably be good. Ev would kill me if she sat in mine and it collapsed.”

Ginny giggled and he could see her picturing it in her mind. “Maybe we just make sure Blip sits in that one,” she teased. 

“Maybe the fall would knock some sense into him.”

“But… we should probably fix it. You know, I’d hate to get sued… or for you to forget and end up on your ass. You could break a hip at your age.”

Mike glared and tossed an Allen wrench at her. “Enough chatter, Baker. Let’s finish these and then you can declare your prize.”

Ginny grinned and got to work. 

They were sitting on the couch watching tv and finishing their beers when the subject came up again. 

“So, what’ll it be, Baker?”

“You get to be my servant for a week,” she announced.

“That all? Shit, I already wait on you hand and foot when you’re at my place. What more could you need?”

“Good point, maybe I should go for some kind of humiliation. I mean I did beat you in a battle of manly skills…”

“IKEA is not manly.”

“Still, maybe I could make you wear a bikini to practice…. Or, oh, I know I could make you shave the beard!”

“You wouldn’t!” He screeched jumping up from the couch and covering his beard with his hands protectively. 

“I wouldn’t. Geez, calm down. I was only kidding.” She started to chew her lip as she thought about what she really wanted. She shouldn’t ask for it, but the wondering had to be worse than knowing. “You could say no if you want,” she said suddenly.

Mike nodded, sitting back on the couch and eyeing her lips as if he already knew what she was going to ask for. 

“Kiss..” She didn’t finished the command before his lips met hers. It was exactly what she hoped for and dreaded in equal measure. When they finally pulled apart she whispered, “Damn,” a little dejectedly.

“Not what I was going for but…”

“I was hoping it would be bad. I was hoping that it was just the… you know… the mystery… and once we kissed, we would realize that we are better as friends.”

“We can still be friends,” he said, squeezing her hand. 

“I know, but I want more.”

“Me too.”


	5. Game night

Ev was only too happy to hand over the boys. Unfortunately, when they heard game night, they assumed it would be a MARIO kart, legend of Zelda, just dance kinda of night. When they noticed that Ginny didn't have a gaming system the jig was up.

“What are we gonna play then?” Gabe groaned, flopping on the couch. Marcus scrunched his nose, as he joined his brother. “You know Aunt Ginny cheats at monopoly, right?”

Mike chuckled. “Yes, I'm aware. We got a game at IKEA the other day. It's like Jenga, but, you know, Swedish.”

“That sounds boring,” the twins whined in unison.

“Ya, haven't even tried it. What do you know?” Mike snapped.

Ginny rolled her eyes. “The pizzas is on the way and I picked up another game today. It’s based on an old computer game we used to play.”

The boys looked dubious. “What's it called?”

“It's called Oregon trail, and it's actually pretty cool. Lots of death and calamity.”

“What's calamity?” Gabe asked.

“Bad shit.” Mike answered, and immediately received an elbow to the ribs. “I mean stuff,” he coughed.

The boys just grinned at his slip though. “I guess we can play, since there's nothing else to do…” Marcus shrugged.

They gathered around the table and Ginny started to explain the game.

“This isn't really how I remember it…” Mike sighed, as he looked through his supply cards.

“Did they even have computers back in your day?” Ginny teased. Mike glared. The door bell rang, though interrupting them.

“I'll get it. You finish setting up,” Mike said pushing back from the table, which on wobbled a little.

When he returned with the pizzas, they got started. Within the first two rounds Mike had died of a snake bite and Ginny was suffering from measles.

“Come on, Gabe. I know you have medicine. You could heal me.” Ginny whined.

“Rules of the game say only one person has to survive and that sometimes letting a player die is the best move to conserve resources,” he replied, giggling.

“You know we all lose or win together though right,” Mike reminded him.

Gabe groaned and threw down a medicine card. “Fine, but this is the last time I save you.”

“I'll remember that the next time I take Marcus for ice cream and leave you at home,” Ginny joked. Gabe had the decency to blush.

They played the game three times. The first time everyone was dead within a few rounds. The next time, Marcus and Mike made it to Oregon. They made a big show of their victory, joking about how Portland would have to change to Mikeland. The following round everyone actually survived, which was of course not as fun.

“What else can was play?” Gabe asked as he carried a stack of paper plates to the trash.

“When we were at Sonny’s house, we played head-ups.” Marcus chimed in.

“But we don't have that game,” Mike answered.

“It's an app. You just have to download it,” Gabe explained.

Within minutes Ginny had downloaded it. “Which deck? Video games, animals, food?”

“Video games!” The boys cheered.

Mike shook his head. It took him a minute to get into the game. Ginny started and the boys were yelling things at her that he didn't understand at all.

“It's the, you know, it’s the kingdom in Zelda.”

“Hyrule!”

“Yes!”

“The, um, dad always plays him…”

“Yoshi”

“Yes!”

“We just played this?”

“The Oregon trail.”

“Yes!”

“What's that? I thought it was supposed to be video games.” Marcus asked.

Mike looked at the word on the phone. Pong. “Ping”

“Pong” Ginny immediately answered. The boys cheered.

The next one came up. Halo.

“Duarte.” Mike snapped

“Halo” she answered right back.

“Ghosts”

“PAC-man”

“Mishima”

“Tekken”

The timer beeped.

“Wow, 7 is pretty good, but we should play a different deck. They have a bunch of old games we've never heard of, so it's not fair.”

“Of course, they have a just for kids one,” Mike offered. The boys glared.

“Let's just try,” Ginny cut in handing the phone to Gabe.

He did pretty well, 5 points. Then Marcus went and got six points. When Mike’s turn came he was a little nervous.

“Want to try the food one.”

“You and your food, rookie.”

As soon as he started though the world disappeared, until it was just him and Ginny.

“Molasses”  
“Brown sugar”  
“Sweet sour patch kids”  
“Swedish fish”  
“Tuna”  
“Casserole”  
“Miller chews’em”  
“Pumpkin seeds”  
“Hospitals”  
“Cocolate pudding”  
“Worst kind of bread”  
“Zucchini”  
“Beyoncé”  
“Lemonade”  
“Tiny cabbage”  
“Brussels sprouts”  
“You’re not you”  
“snickers”  
Lastly, Ginny just wiggled her fingers  
“Olives”

The timer went off and the boys stared. “How many was that, like 25?”

“How did you do that?” Gabe asked, looking between them in wonder.

Mike laughed, “I guess we just really know each other.”

“Cool!” The boys chorused dragging out the syllables.

Ginny rolled her eyes. They were still playing when Blip and Evelyn rang the doorbell. The boys dragged them to the table.

“Mom, Dad, you gotta see this. It's like they are reading each other's minds!”

Mike looked a little self conscious now that their audience wasn't 7 year olds, but Ginny was still trying to win so she started the next deck and locked eyes with him.

“Pie”  
“Pecan”  
Mike nodded, and Ginny switched the clue.  
“Right or left”  
“Twix”  
“Lemon”  
“Lime”  
“Tomato”  
“Basil”  
“Tiny fish”  
“Sardines”  
“Flimsies”  
“Crepes”  
“Bell”  
“Pepper”  
“Mashed chickpeas”  
“Hummus”  
“Each peach”  
“Pear”  
“2%”  
“Milk”  
“Cotton candy, sweetie go”  
“Tootsie roll”  
“Hop”  
“Jelly beans”  
“Just pass” The words was cilantro, and he was not opening that can of worms.   
Ginny frowned but did pass.  
“Your favorite dessert”  
“Peach cobbler”  
“Peanut butter and”  
“Oreos”  
“Favorite cereal”  
“Frosted mini wheats”  
“It's…. ( humming) time”  
“Peanut butter jelly sandwich”  
“Sushi”  
“Wasabi”  
“Number 6”  
“Won ton soup”

The timer beeped, Ginny cheered and Evelyn grinned. She just knew she was going to get the very graphic details, very soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's now 4 am at 2 I figured out that I knew what this chapter would be. Any errors are due to the fact that my eyes refuse to focus properly right now... hope you like it!


End file.
